Current Projects

Queen Elizabeth II Field

Conservation work update at Queen Elizabeth II Field

For the last year, Stroud Valleys Project has been working with Cainscross Parish Council to improve Queen Elizabeth II Field for both people and wildlife. The work has mainly been carried out by local people and Stroud Valleys Project volunteers.

We continued our work in the pond area and spent the summer keeping back vigorous plants that were trying to swamp the native hedge and wildflower area. While working there we have been amazed by the amount of wildlife we’ve spotted. There were azure damselflies and hawker, chaser and darter dragonflies as well as many different types of caterpillar including an impressive eyed hawkmoth caterpillar - see photo.

We also ran family pond dipping sessions and discovered that not only is the pond home to many different invertebrates but also to smooth and palmate newts. In the spring we planted native wildflower plugs on a bank and by the summer some tufted vetch, small scabious and bird's foot trefoil flowered in their first season.

Our work was funded for the year by the Postcode Local Trust and is due to end in November. However, the good news is that we now have been contracted to continue working on the site.

Since we began our conservation work at Queen Elizabeth II Playing field in Dudbridge back in September 2016, we have been very busy! We have been working on the pond area, which was gradually being taken over by brambles, alder and bulrushes. The area has now been completely cleared, leaving only a few brambles as a hedge because they are so beneficial for wildlife.

We cleared some of the bulrushes from the pond, put in a dipping platform, planted a native hedge around the fence together with four local variety apple trees. In the autumn we planted bulbs and wildflowers on the bridge bank which are now just in flower and we will be continuing planting this spring with native wildflower plugs.

Over the winter we have been working on a green oak bench for the pond area which we hope to install in May.

We go out once a week, so if you live near the site and have some spare time on a Tuesday, why not come along and join us? Volunteering is a brilliant way of not only practically helping the environment but also helping keep you fit, reducing your stress levels and bringing people together. If you are not free during the week but would still like to be involved in the project in some way, we are hoping to start a Friends of QE II Field Group.

In September we started a joint project with Cainscross Parish Coucil at Queen Elizabeth II Playing Field in Dudbridge, Stroud funded by the Postcode Local Trust. The field, formerly known as Cope-Chat Playing Field, was a disused sports ground owned by a local company Copeland Chatterson. However, by the end of the 1990s the field had fallen into disuse. It was transferred to the Parish Council in 2011 and in 2012 it was granted Queen Elizabeth II status as part of a nationwide scheme dedicating 2012 playing fields across the country and protecting them in perpetuity.

Last year the Parish Council asked residents how they would like to develop their field and the results came back that they would like to improve the area for both people and wildlife. Stroud Valleys Project is co-ordinating the work, which will mainly be carried out by local people and our volunteers. This autumn we have started work creating a wildflower bank and improving the pond area (including a dipping platform). Other jobs for the future will include installing seating, carrying out woodland improvement work, making bird & bat boxes and putting in some interpretation boards The weekly volunteer working group meets on a Tuesday, so if you have some spare time then why not come along and join us? Volunteering is a brilliant way of not only practically helping the environment but also helping keep you fit, reducing your stress levels and bringing people together. If you like the idea of taking part but are not available during the week we will be planning some weekend events and also starting a Friends of Queen Elizabeth II Field group. If you would like to volunteer, or for any more information, please contact Tamsin at Stroud Valleys Project :
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or 01453 753358.

Our Volunteers Say

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I've found the projects inspiring and I've developed skills I didn't know I had, to the extent that I am now able to find employment in new fields.

I will always be grateful to the staff and volunteers at Stroud Valleys Project for their encouragement and warm support.

Being involved with Stroud Valleys Project has been a great experience. I've enjoyed and learnt so much through various courses and volunteer projects I've worked on.

Thank you all at SVP for the help and support you have given me in the last couple of years, which has helped me to get my foot back on the ladder in the world of work.

I loved the course (Veg Growing), it was the highlight of my week

“Often I feel so bad I don’t want to do anything but after coming here, working with my group in the sunshine, I always feel more cheerful. They are my friends now.”

“Volunteering with SVP is the best thing that happened to me in my life.”

“I never thought I would get into gardening and growing stuff, but through all my work with SVP I have learnt to really appreciate nature.”

“We get lots of work done – and we have a laugh!”

“Our group is like pieces from a jigsaw puzzle. Everybody mucks in and does what they can, and the job gets finished in no time.”

“When somebody has a bad day, the others in the team make them feel better.”